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Translating translational research: mouse models of human disease

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 10, pages 373–374 (2013)Cite this article

Translational research has become increasingly popular in recent years. Within the field of medical research, animal models are considered valuable research tools that provide insight into the complex world of human diseases. Inbred animals eliminate several of the challenges of human studies and allow researchers to conduct disease research on, arguably, the most controlled model system possible. The ease with which animal models allow us to advance research often leads us to ignore the possibility that these studies may only provide limited translational potential to humans. Seok and colleagues of the ‘Inflammation and Host Response to Injury Large Scale Collaborative Research Program’ have recently published an impressive study1 that specifically addresses this question, that is, the degree to which results of mouse models of inflammation mimic corresponding human diseases. And their results raise serious questions.

Their study analyzed changes in gene expression in several conditions (burns, trauma and endotoxemia) that involve inflammatory responses between cohorts of human patients and corresponding mouse models. The authors identified 5544 genes that change significantly in human inflammatory disease and subsequently determined that 4918 of these genes had murine orthologs. These 4918 ‘shared’ genes were then compared by several different bioinformatic and biostatistic methods to determine whether the gene expression changes observed in the human conditions studied were also observed in the corresponding mouse model.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    Amanda M Burkhardt & Albert Zlotnik

  2. Institute for Immunology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    Amanda M Burkhardt & Albert Zlotnik

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  1. Amanda M Burkhardt
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  2. Albert Zlotnik
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Correspondence to Albert Zlotnik.

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Burkhardt, A., Zlotnik, A. Translating translational research: mouse models of human disease. Cell Mol Immunol 10, 373–374 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2013.19

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